authoritie and Scripture you haue bene tyed Farewell and iudge of me as these my writings deserue Examini iudicio verae ecclesiae quae fidelium sanctorum electorum societas est communio constans fide spe dilectione ac spiritu Christi hoc ego opusculum humiliter ac demissè subijcio I doe with humilitie and lowlinesse submit this small worke to the iudgement and examination of the true Church which is the society and communion of the faithfull holy and elected the same being knowen and agreeing in fayth hope charitie and the spirite of Christ Appollodorus Good men vse fewe wordes neyther needeth the truth much babling ¶ A Copie of a Letter sent by the Emperor vnto the Pope ¶ Fredericke by the grace of God the Romaine Emperour alwayes imperiall vnto Adrian bishop of the catholike Church sendeth greeting willing him to stand vnto all those things which Christ began to doe and to teache THe law of Iustice doth restore vnto euery maÌ„ that vvhich is his ovvne neyther doe vvee anye iniurie vnto our parentes vnto vvhome vvithin this our Realme vve doe exhibite due honor and from vvhoÌ„ as our progenitors vve haue receiued the dignity of our realm and crovvne Is it founde that Siluester Byshop of Rome in the time of Constantine the Emperor had any Kingly possession or authoritie for thorovv the permission of the Emperors godlye affection the liberty of the church vvas graunted peace vvas restored what Princelye thing soeuer your popedome is knovvne to haue the same you do hold through the liberalitie of Princes Therfore vvhen vve vvrite vnto the Bishop of Rome by good right and of olde vve doe vvrite first our ovvne name and that he so doe as the rule of iustice is vvriting vnto vs vve graunt Pervse the chronicles and if you haue neglected the thing you reade that vvhich vvee alledge you shall finde it there But of those vvhich belong vnto God by adoption and doe holde anye Kingly thing of vs vvhy maye not vve demaund homage and othe due vnto a prince seeing the appointer of vs and of you receyuing nothing of a man that is a king but yeelding euerie good thing vnto al payd for himselfe and for Peter the tribute due vnto Caesar giuing therby vnto you example to do the like and so he teacheth you saying learne of mee for I am meeke and humble in heart VVherefore let such eyther restore vnto vs our princelye possessions or if they adiudge these things profitable let them pay vnto God that vvhich is Gods and vnto Caesar that vvhich is his Also vnto your Cardinals the Churches be shut the cities are not open and that bicause vvee see them not to bee preachers but spoylers not peace-makers but mony catchers not the redressers of the vvorld but the vnsatiable scrapers of gold Yet vvhen vvee shall perceyue them to be such as the churche requireth vvhen they proue to be peacemakers vvheÌ„ they vvill giue light vnto their countrie and vvhen they vvill assist the cause of the humble in equitie then loe shall vvee ayde them vvith necessary stypendes and safecoÌ„ducts But you haue not a little offended agaynst humility vvhich ought to be the keper of your vertues meeknes vvhen you set forth vnto secular persons such questions as are very small furtherance vnto religion VVherefore let your fatherhoode foresee vvhiles you moue thinges vvhich vvee adiudge vnvvorthy least you bee an offence vnto those vvho as vnto a latevvard shoure are desirous to yeelde their eares vnto your mouth For vve can not but aunsvvere the things vvee heare vvhen vvee see the detestable beast of Pryde to haue crept euen vnto the seate of Peter And in thus doing vve doe alvvaies vvel prouide for the peace of the Church Fare you alvvays vvell FINIS Seene and allowed according to the order appointed Anno. 1568. Aeneas Sylae lib. 3. c. Note An obiection The answere Aug. lib. 20. de ciuitate dei 1. Iohn 1. Ecclesi 4. Aug. Ecclesi 4. Philip. 12. Cicero Ieremie 3. Marc. 10. Eth. lib. 7. Lib. de patientia Augustin Ezechiel 18 Hieronym Math. 6. Cyprian 1. Tim. 1. Aug. lib. retract â–ª Ibidem An obiection â–ª An answere Act. 9. c. Li. confes 6. Eccl. hist â–ª lib. 3. Fortun. Ep. Aug. exhort Lib. 2. de vnico baptisme Psal 77. Osee Abac. 2. Const prou Oxon. Statut. Henrici 4. Cyprian c. Io. Peckham Cant. Archiep. Greg. Maur Aug. Ibidem Gregorie was chosen Anno domini â–ª 591. Gregor Archiep. Cant. Io. Peckham Gregor Venantio c. De consid ad Eug. Supremacy Salomon 1. Pet. 4. Luc. 1. Luc. 14. Marc. 10. Ambrose â–ª Apoc. 13. Ecclesi 13. Mantuan Ibidem Prou. 20. 1. Pet â–ª 2. 1. Tim. 2. 1. Reg. 12. 24. q. 1. haec est fides c 35. q. 9. veniam Ex dictis Bonifaciâ— Ibidem Ex decret Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Barthol Brixiensis Clomens Imperator Petro glorios prep Iustin. Ioanni viro c. Iustin Anâ— thenio sanctiss c. Gregorius Eulogio episcopo Alexandrino Idem Mauritio Augusto Nauclerus Anno domini 604. Greg. Eulogio Anastasio Greg. Ioanni episcopo Constanti Esay 14. Luc. 2â— Marc. 10. Math. 20. Esay 14. Math. 16. Behold how this place is abused Ambrose Esay 6. Marc. 1. Ioan. 21. Note how this place is peruerted Math. 10. Math. 17. Wey howe this place is wrested Dem. ex orat de fal legat Cicer pro M. Caelio Luc. 22. Se howe this place is misvsed Marc. 14. Ibidem Luc. 22. Ibidem Ioan. Esay 14. An obiection Ioan. 7. An answere Actes 7. Ioan. 7. Ieremi 5. Dist. 38. c X. q. 1. placuit Ierem. 8. An obiection The answere Isidor Chrysost Herodian Anno domini 194. An obiection The answere Philip. 2. Symmachus papa Gregorie Concil To letan Purgatory Arist. Allen in the defence of Purgatorie Malach. 3. Titus 2. 1. Cor. 3. Ibidem Ibidem Allen. c. Lib. de ciuit dei 13. cap. 8. The supper of our Lord. Cyprian August I. Cer. II. Ioan. 6. Aug. in exposition Psalm 8. The body of Christ is not consecrated nor yet the bread Aske them then what is consecrated Sand August In Epist. ad Ephesios Augustin Of the translation of holy scripture into the vulgar tongue Hieron Hieron in praefat in lib. Iudith Ioan. 6. Hieron Hieron in PentateuchuÌ„ Moysi Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Rom. 10. Esay 55. Act. 8. Psal 18. Valla. 1. Corin. 14. Iudg. 5. 1. Corin. 14. Ephes 5. Coloss 3. Psalm 9. Ad parentiam comit Arrian Concil Toletan An obiection The answere Iohn 6. Ephes 4. Aug. lib. de baptism peruul Act. 15. Ibidem An objection The answere Sand. Ibidem Ex decret Ex decret c. Hard. Ibidem In Eunuch Aldiberto regi Anglorum Aug. interrog ad Gregor 1. Cor. 7. An obiection The answere in Salust Laert. li. 6. Fasting Esay 58. Ibidem Daniel â— Math. 6. Ibidem Ex â—…ecret Hieron Prayers 1. Cor. 14. Augustin Ex constitut Math. 6. Ibidem Penance Leo. Ambros in serm quaedrages Ibidem Aug. ad FelicianuÌ„ Psalm 32. Psalm 34. Math. 3. 4. Daniel 9. 1 â–ª Tim. 2. Hieron Almes Gregor Antiochen episcopo Idem Syagrio epis Ibidem Augustin Gen. 4. Eccle 34. Prouerb 15. Luc. 12. AdGal 6. An obiection The answere Peckham Cantuar. Lindewode An obiection The answere Heb. 11. Ibidem Iustification Rom. 3. Rom. 4. Augustin Ad Iren. Iam. 2 Act. 15. De spirit â–ª litera Gala. 2. Alfons Virues Hispanus Mariage De bono vid. Idem contra aduers legum prophet 1. Tim. 4. Gen. 2. Deut. 52. Malach. 6. Tob. 6. Ibidem Hebr. 13. Ibidem Isidor de dist nou vet testamen 1. Cor. 7. Hieron Tripart hist. Concil Gangren Anno domini 1073. Damas Hieron Math. 8. Leo. 9. contra epistolam Nicet Abbatis De bono coniug ad Iul. Nauclerus Canon Apostolorum Syn. 6. Theotist patrit Hieron in Leuit. Math. 16. 1 Nauclerus Ioan. 10. Stobaeus serm 34. Nauclerus
wherin he then shall stande of the iust iustice iudgement of God O how comfortable is this doctrine how farre passeth it al their painted fires and feyned flames of Purgatorie You sée now that the Scripture admitteth no such place you see the right meaning aswell of the Prophet as also of the Apostle You sée that their two chiefe and onely places doe serue so to their purpose that they stand plainely and altogither against them Howe shall then poore Purgatorie stande how shall the Pope mayntayne his chiefe Farme Howe shall therein his might his gaine be befended to what purpose shoulde we cloke the matter anye lenger his euidences be all naught his writings be counterfeyte his lease is antedated his witnesses be prooued partiall and periured his Lawyers haue lost their credite his interest is not good it is the Lord of hostes that sueth him the iudgement se iudice must passe against him But we see say the Purgatorians the name of Purgatorie often set forth by auncient writers And what I praye you of that what gathered they what meaned they by that name forsooth so farre were they from confessing anye such Purgatorie fire which now men so foolishly séeke to defende that some sayde the tribulation of this life and world must trie mens faith and works some said the griefe of mind in loosing that which they ouermuch loued was the burning fire of mans affections some woulde haue the grieuous vexation of departure out of this life to be a Purgatorie paines some construed the text of the fire of conflagration that shall purge the workes of many in the latter daye Here who is so blind who is so senselesse but maye vnderstande that the scope of their Pargatorie was in thys present life and that it did nothing concerne in any one point any payne in the world to come what should I wade herein any further what should I vse any more wordes with one especiall place of S. Augustine I will ende For the soules sayth he of the godlye being separated from the bodye be in rest but the soules of the wicked doe suffer paynes vntill the bodies of the one may be reuiued vnto euerlasting life and of the other vnto eternal death which is called the seconde By this he maketh but two estates of the soules departed the one now in paines who at the daye of iudgement shalbe damned and the other now in rest who then shall be saued So is their Idea Idiot dreamings of Purgatory by authorities by scripture disproued The next thing wherof we mean to treate is the sacramēt the holy remembrance of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christ which how it hath bene abused of how long a time and by whom we meane here by the assistance of God whose cause especiallye it is to expresse set forth and declare Wherein if any of our elders eyther simply or ignorantlye haue not helde and obserued that which our Lord and sauiour hath taught vs the Lords pardon may extende vnto their simplicitie but we which are nowe warned by our Sauiour and instructed may not loke for forgiuenesse If we wilfully will refuse the knowledge of the truth and the right vnderstanding of Gods holye mysteries Manifolde were the errors wherwith men haue bene blinded touching the holy supper of our Lorde touching the Cōmunion of his bodie and bloud But bicause I haue purposed to be brief I wil rather labor to shew the light right sense therin of holy scripture than to ouerthrow which is very soone done the foolish opinion of some grosse and carnall Cauphernaites Neyther yet may I altogither omit as occasion serueth to speake of the fonde iudgement of such who cannot be contented to enioye the benefites of Christ his bodie and bloude except they further O wicked follie maye teare him with their teeth and more than deuour him with their mouthes Vnto these doth S. Augustine speake To what purpose preparest thou thy teeth and thy bellie beleue and thou hast eaten Neither yet let any here suppose that I adiudge it not néedfull to eate those holye signes as things instituted by our Sauiour for vs to take and receiue in his remembrance But that the aduersaries maye throughlye be satisfied that the indifferent and welwilling maye rightly be instructed shall we sée in what wise S. Paule receiued this institution at our Lords hands That which I deliuered you the same I receiued sayeth he of the Lord. For the Lorde Iesus the same night in which hee was betrayed tooke Bread gaue thanks and brake it saying take and eate this is my bodye which shalbe giuen for you this do ye in the remembrance of me After the same maner he tooke the Cuppe when supper was done and sayd this Cup is the new testament in my bloud this doe as oft as you shall drinke it in the remembrance of me For as often as you shall eate this Breade and drinke this Cup you shall shewe the Lordes death vntill he come Therfore whosoeuer shal eate the Bread and drinke the Cuppe of our Lord vnworthily he shall be guiltie of the bodie and bloud of our Lord. Wherefore let a man examine himselfe and so let him eate of that Breade and drinke of that Cuppe Thus farre speaketh S. Paule and that verie plainly Nowe come we then to the search of the text And first let those who will acknowledge there no breade way but indifferently the words as they stand Christ tooke Breade he gaue thanks and brake it What brake he Breade Who will denie it He sayde that it was his bodie That is true but howe not fleshly but spiritually It is sayth Christ the spirit that quickeneth the fleshe profiteth nothing the wordes that I spake vnto you are spirite and life Lo how euidently he aunswereth the cogitations of such as thought that they should haue eaten him carnally Hence it is that S. Augustine thus saith The first heresie sprang amongest the Disciples of Christ as it were through the hardnesse of hys words For when he sayd except one will eate my fleshe and drinke my bloud he can not haue lyfe euerlasting They here not vnderstanding sayde one vnto another this is a hard saying who can eate him and whiles they thus said they separated themselues from him and he remayned with twoo disciples whom when the other were gone he instructed It is the spirite sayth he which giueth life the flesh profiteth nothing The wordes that I spake vnto you are spirite and life You haue vnderstoode spiritually so they are spirite and lyfe You haue vnderstoode carnallye so yet are they spirite and lyfe But vnto thee they are not spirite and life which vnderstandest them not spiritually Vnderstande yee spiritually the wordes that I spake vnto you You shall not eate thys bodie which you see neyther shall you drinke the bloud which those that crucifie me shall shed I haue cōmended vnto you a kinde of
a concubine may not be put from the Communion so that he be contented with one woman be she wife or harlot O how horrible among Christians is this decrée Such stuffe they haue such holynesse they vse such men they be Loth I am to defile any further my pen either in their most lothsome lawe or in their vile and lawlesse lust Nowe to the braunches whereof I spake and first of the chiefe which is Purgatorie This is a place as they appoint it wherein onely small offences be remitted in the next life If you aske them where this place is they can not agree you appose them so that quod non inuenit vsquam esse putat nusquam They haue sought heauen they haue sought hell itum est in viscera terrae they haue sought euen the verie bowels of the earth and yet can not feyned Purgatorie be founde there is none before the time of darknesse that euer heard of such an Inne But is there trowe ye any such place at al If there be none then hath it no place of being for quod non est nusquam est That which is not is no where The name of Purgatorie in holye scripture was neuer read in sense also there is therein nothing founde in anye wise to confirme the same except you will haue the wresting of places to be proofes and the abusing of Gods word to be made a warde a couering and a bolstering of iniquitie Did the Apostles of Christ euer heare of any such place heard they once of the name of Purgatorie no for it was long after will the defenders thereof saye before it was borne and christened Our forefathers saye they more than a thousande yeares since called it Purgatorie In déede they had néede at the length to name it béeing of so long a tyme before namelesse but who was Godfather y e Pope himself Well it was time to hatch it for it was one of the profitablest monsters that euer was whelped within the Popes house But beléeue me let them garnishe it neuer so much with gold feyned dreames and with other delusions yet shall it down the straw stuffing must be séene the painted lymmes must be looked vppon and the breathlesse babe must throughly now be ripped vp and be tried And what gaue occasion to our forefathers I will vse their owne wordes of the name of Purgatorie Marrie say they the thirde Chapiter of the Prophet Malachie and the first Epistle to the Corinthians These be their twoo especiall places vpon the which you shall nowe sée how foolishly they builde The words in Malachie be these Beholde he commeth sayth the Lord of hostes and who may abide the day of his comming who can stande and endure his sight for he is like melting and casting fire and as the wasshers herbe And he shall sit casting and trying out siluer and shal purge the children of Leui and clense them as gold or siluer Here we find a maner of purgation and what is it forsooth we will vse plaine dealing the matter néedes no shift In thys place and in the whole chapiter these things be only conteyned the comming of S. Iohn the Baptist the deliuerance of the faithfull through Gods great mercie and grace from their sinnes the iudgement of Christ against the wicked of their blasphemies against God and of Gods most benigne care toward the godlye See then whether your priuate Purgatorie maye haue hence anye place any pretence of being any defence or bolstring or not I néeded not to tell you oh I woulde it were not néedefull to tell that we are onely saued by Christ his death that we are clensed by his bloud shed and that we are redemed by his passion it is our Sauiour Iesus Christ which gaue himself for vs to redéeme vs from all vnrighteousnes and to purge vs a peculiar people vnto him selfe we feruentlye being giuen vnto good workes Weigh then what it is to purge the children of Leui and sée whether it be any thing else then that they should be regenerated and renewed by the spirite of God yea and that sinne shoulde not be imputed vnto them for the loue of Christ Consider this it is a more holesome doctrine than to hunt we know not where after a hatefull phantasticall and foolish pretenced Purgatorie Thus by the wordes of the Prophet séeing they may not preuaile seeing that the same is altogither against them let vs likewise ▪ sée what y e Apostle sayth He alledgeth that the foundation is already layde which is Iesus Christ then he procedeth in these wordes If anye man builde vppon this foundation golde siluer precious stones wood hay or stubble euery mans worke shall appeare For the daye of the Lorde will declare it and it shall bee shewed in fire and the fire shall trie euerye mannes worke what it is If any mans worke that he hath builte vpon doe abide he shall receyue a rewarde If anye mans worke burn he shal suffer losse but yet he himselfe shall be safe neuerthelesse yet as it were through fire These be S. Paules wordes ▪ Now as men not giuen to contention and fonde strife as men desirous of the right vnderstanding of holye scripture as men all free from partialitie and part taking let vs weigh vprightlye the meaning of the text Here the Apostle would haue vs to be feruent in good workes and earnest to doe well hée wisheth vs to bee occupied in that labour which when the iudge of all shall come may in his sight be acceptable may to vs ward be commendable And that we should well beware what workes we builde vppon our foundation he plainlye sheweth that at the last day all our doings shalbe opened and that then the same shall be so tried as the Goldsmith in fining hys mettals trieth out the drosse and base matter from the pure perfite and fine The day sayth he of our Lorde shall declare it bicause it shall appeare in fire The daye of our Lorde is the daye of iudgement the thing is so plaine as no man though he be very peruerse may denie it But when shall it appere in fire euen then at the generall iudgement so is the text Where is therfore in y e meane time their place of Purgatorie Well will you sée in fewe wordes what by the whole text is ment Here this onelye is spoken of those which shall be saued of such as builde vppon Iesus Christ vppon which foundation as all can not builde golde precious stones and siluer as all can not be perfite neyther by martyrdome bée crowned nor yet by good learning shine like the starres ofheauen so thereon building be it but Wood or Haye be it but verie stubble though y e work it selfe be in the end burned though he himselfe receiue no such reward as the others yet shal he be saued and how as it were through fire Not through fire but through the great feare